The Backyard Weed That Heals Wounds and Soothes the Gut

Somewhere, lurking in your yard, is a plant that can soothe a stomach ulcer, heal a cut or scrape, draw out toxins, and bring a splinter to the surface of the skin. You’ve likely seen it many times, perhaps never knowing that it was a formidable healer.

That plant is plantain—not the banana-like fruit, but Plantago major, the flat-leafed rosette that pushes up through sidewalk cracks, lawn edges, and garden borders. Although some see it as a bothersome weed, plantain has a long history of healing. Ancient Persian physicians prescribed it, the philosopher Avicenna wrote at length about it, and for centuries, grandmothers taught their grandchildren to chew it and place it onto a bee sting before the swelling began.